Behind Closed Doors
by Hopeful Writer
Summary: This takes place two years after the book. Ralph has to live with him memories of the island. Everyone is skirting around the incident, but he just wants release.


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Disclaimer: All property of or relating to Lord of the Flies is not mine. Gavin is mine. Considering he has very little character, feel free to steal him whenever you want.

A/N – This is my first Lord of the Flies fic. It was inspired by reading another, really, called The Ride Home by BurningRuby. This takes place two years after the book, and Ralph is living with his memories. Enjoy!

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Behind Closed Doors

By: Hopeful Writer

It was still dark when Ralph awoke, safe in his bed after another torturous nightmare. His memories of the island were so vivid, watching Simon's death, and Piggy's, over and over until he wept. 

Ralph crept quietly out of the house, into the quiet neighborhood, the safe neighborhood, his parents had taken him to after "the incident", as everyone dubbed it. No one dared mention it in his presence, of course. He might get sad, he might cry. The whole town knew about it, Ralph was sure. He'd been on the news and everything. But no one spoke of it. It was just a hidden trauma left behind closed doors.

Ralph had been left behind closed doors too. His parents, who had been relatively open-minded before "the incident", were now the most protective on the block. Ralph was to report home right after school, and not to leave the house without permission. If, by some chance, he was invited to a friend's house, he had to be home well before dinner and couldn't even think about spending the night. If Ralph's fame and terrible past weren't enough to scare off the other children at his new school, his overprotective parents did the job.

Sometimes Ralph snuck out at night, just to sit on the front porch and watch the stars, breath the fresh air, and enjoy the outside. It was at these times that the memories flooded back, worse than any other. The horror was still very real, even after two years of being safe. The nightmares still came at least once a week, and he still replayed Simon and Piggy's deaths whenever he was alone to think.

He wasn't alone very often.

Tonight was one of those nights when Ralph needed to relive the horrible memories. It was odd, but he was addicted to the past. He wasn't sure whether it was driving him insane or keeping him sane, but he needed to think about what had hurt him so badly.

It hadn't always been like this, of course. In the beginning, he hadn't been able to think about it. He had tried everything to keep himself occupied, keep himself from his thoughts. He hadn't slept for weeks, only catching a nap here and there.

But then he started wishing that he would think about it more often. He had truly grown close to some of the boys, Piggy and Simon particularly, and reliving those horrible times kept them alive, in his mind if no place else. 

The tears began to come, burning Ralph's eyelids as he slammed them shut to block the flow. He had thought that Simon was an angel. Immortal. He was too good to be just another boy on the island, way too good to be in the same group as Jack. And Jack had looked down on Simon for his occasional fainting spells. Simon should have looked down on Jack, should have scorned Jack! He was so much better than Jack.

Ralph closed his eyes and pushed back the memories, pushed them behind closed doors in his mind. He liked thinking about his friends, but he could only remember so much in one night. Memories of Simon, so innocent and pure, a true angel, always hurt the worst.

"Hey, you're the Island Boy, aren't you?"

Ralph jumped several inches as he sought the face behind the voice. Nearby was a boy, about his age, with blonde hair and a gentle smile. "S—Simon?" Ralph stammered in amazement.

The boy looked puzzled. "No, my name is Gavin. What's your name?"

"Ralph."

Gavin smiled. "Simon was one of the boys on the island, wasn't he? What happened to him?"

Ralph had never met someone like Gavin. At least, not someone here. It only took a moment for him to start speaking. He told Gavin all about the island, about Simon and Piggy and Jack and the lot of them. When he had talked himself into exhaustion, he sat back in his chair and waited for the other boy to speak.

Gavin took a second to absorb what he had been told. "They tried to _kill_ you?" he exclaimed. "Jesus, no wonder no one wants to talk to you about it.."

Ralph shrugged. "I feel better after talking to you. You know, like someone took all the hurt and memories and stuff and they took it away, or lessened it, or something. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, actually. When my mom died last year, everyone tried to keep from talking about her in front of me, but when I finally got someone to talk to, it made dealing with it better," Gavin admitted. He gave Ralph a half-smile. "It's a lot like being locked up sometimes. With no one to talk to or anything. Everyone wants you to just forget it ever happened, but that's not possible so you keep everything inside but sometimes you just feel like you want to burst, right?"

Ralph smiled back shakily. "Yeah. That's exactly it." He ran a hand through his tousled hair and glanced into the sky where the sun could be seen peeking over the horizon. "I'd better go back inside before my folks wake up. They're a bit protective."

"Obviously," Gavin replied wryly. "I'll see you soon?"

This time Ralph's smile was broad and heart-felt. "All right. How 'bout tomorrow, same time?"

"Great."

Ralph disappeared into the house to try and catch a few more hours of sleep. When he found himself drifting, he called up one last memory of the island. It wasn't a struggle, like always before. The doors that had once confined the memories had been opened. He was no longer locked behind closed doors.

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~~ The End ~~

A/N – *shrug* It was just an idea to play with. Hope you enjoyed.

"Fear is like a noose that binds until it strangles." – Jean Zoomer


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